Work supporting device



June so, 1936. B, H O ER 2,045,711

WORK SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed May 14, 1934 F1 .1. Z4 M 30 f 74 26 J /-/6 f-f Z 20 "Jifii my I TigtZ. I

Z/A/VENTUQ- Maw 22 F whmrm Patented June 30, 1936 UNITED STATES 2,045,711 7 WORK SUPPORTING DEVICE Lester B. Hooper, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application May 14, 1934, Serial No. 725,442

2 Claims. (Cl. 154-79) This invention relates to work holding devices and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for producing blanks from sheet material by means of dies.

In the production of blanks such as shoe part blanks from sheet material use is commonly made of a machine having a work support in a form of a cutting block and an arm or beam arranged to reciprocate relatively to the block for forcing a freely movable die through the material. In some classes of work, such as in the cutting of linings for shoes, the blanks are out from rolls of fabric one or more layers of which are drawn up over the edge of the block and held in position upon the block by some form of clamp commonly called a cloth clamp. Devices of this kind are utilized in order to maintain one end of the material upon the cutting block against the weight of the bight of the material and against displacement by the operator in locating a die upon the work.

It is an object of the invention to provide a work holding device of improved construction which will be particularly effective to hold the material upon a cutting block and at the same time will be simple in its operation and cheap to manufacture. To this end and as illustrated herein, the invention provides a Work holding device comprising an apron having a curved work engaging surface extending along one side of the work support of a machine for operating on sheet material together with members pivotally mounted adjacent to the apron and arranged for angular movement into engagement with the apron for clamping and holding material extending over the apron.

Other features and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a portion of a clicking machine equipped with a work holding device constructed in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the work holding device in position upon the cutting block of the machine.

The illustrated machine is a clicking machine comprising a frame If], a bed l2 supporting a wooden cutting block M which is secured to the bed by clamping bolts It. At the forward portion of the bed there is a bracket l8 secured to the bed by bolts 20 and having upturned arms 22 which support a shaft 24. Loosely mounted upon the shaft 24 are a plurality of fingers 26 spaced along the shaft by collars 28 and having their free ends rounded. The rounded ends of the fingers are normally adapted to contact with an apron 30 formed of wood or of metal and secured to the arms 22 by bolts 32. The apron 30 acts as an abutment which may be engaged by the fingers and over which sheet material may be guided as it is located upon the cutting. block M. This is shown in Fig. 1 wherein the end 34 of a roll of sheet material 35 which is carried in a trough 36 at the base of the machine has been drawn upwardly over the apron 30 and located upon the upper surface of the block I4. It is to be noted that the apron 30 is provided with a concave surface 38, the curvature of which is eccentric to the axis of the shaft 24, the lower portion of the apron 30 being nearer the shaft 24 than the upper portion. The lengths of the fingers 26 are such that as the fingers are rotated about the axis of the shaft 24 there will be clearance between the fingers and the surface 38 at the top of the apron but as the ends of the fingers are moved downwardly they will engage some portion of the surface 38, or the surface of material extending over the apron. This construe tion provides for automatic operation of the fingers regardless of the thickness of the layer or layers of the sheet material drawn over the apron, the fingers accommodating themselves to the varying thickness of the material. The weight of the fingers is such that suflicient pressure will be brought to bear upon material positioned between the fingers and the surface 38 at several points along the apron so that the material will be held in position.

The construction of the device is such that after a sheet of material is brought up onto the surface of the block and then released any tendency of the depending portion of the material to pull the end downwardly will result in forcing the fingers in a clockwise direction about their supporting shaft so that the material will be pinched between the ends of the fingers and the curved portion 38 of the apron, thus to prevent any further movement of the material. On the other hand, when it is desired to draw more material across the upper surface of the cutting block a movement of the material in an upward direction will rotate the fingers in a counterclockwise direction and release their pressure upon the material.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A work holding device comprising a work support, an apron extending along one edge of the support and having a concave surface over which sheet material may be drawn, a shaft spaced from the surface, and a plurality of fingers loosely mounted upon the shaft, the lengths of the fingers being greater than the shortest distance between the axis of the shaft and the concave surface.

2. A work holding device comprising a work support, an apron extending along one side of the support and having a concave curved surface over which sheet material may be drawn, a shaft extending along the apron, the axis of the shaft being eccentric to the axis of the curved surface, and work engaging members loosely mounted upon the shaft and movable angularly into engagement with sheet material positioned upon the support and extending across the curved surface.

LESTER B. HOOPER. 

